Teams miss darting elusive tiger by a whisker

The animal, which had gone untraceable despite being searched by deploying drones, kumkis and camera traps over the last few days, was finally spotted in a direct sighting on Monday evening. However, the evasive tiger proved smart by disappearing into the thickets even as the Forest Department was gearing up for their task.

Continuous rains and impending darkness also played spoilsport with the plans of the Forest Department. The tiger was noticed near Sigur in Masinagudi on Monday. Interestingly, the Chief Wildlife Warden Shekhar Kumar Niraj, who is spearheading the operation, had himself spotted the tiger at a short range. He was seated on a kumki along with a veterinarian, who was armed with a tranquilising gun.

“Even as the veterinarian took aim to dart, the tiger retreated fast into the jungle. It could not be found then. After a search till evening, the operation was suspended. We will resume our search again on Tuesday,” said Niraj.

Forest Department officials claimed to have spotted a tiger likely to be T23 at a long distance on Sunday evening in the Singara range. Apart from multiple teams and two kumkis, the Forest Department has also engaged three expert sniffer dogs roped in from Karnataka, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve and Gudalur Forest Division to track the tiger.